[Dex]

All.. Just wanted to add some quick elements into the Rust problem with Linea. I have a Linea Emotion Pk MJD. Following are the places that seem to show signs of rust within 1 year:

1. The small holes on the injector
2. Both the bolts on shocker mounting
3. Read Badging

TASS says that all imported components are prone to rust and are covered under warranty. I don't want to go for any component change yet, but I raised that on my first service so that this gets logged as an issue with the car.

From a fixing and response perspective, I strongly believe now that FIAT service is far more responsive than Maruti.

[Soccerfan]

Originally Posted by Dex

All.. Just wanted to add some quick elements into the Rust problem with Linea. I have a Linea Emotion Pk MJD. Following are the places that seem to show signs of rust within 1 year:

1. The small holes on the injector
2. Both the bolts on shocker mounting
3. Read Badging

TASS says that all imported components are prone to rust and are covered under warranty. I don't want to go for any component change yet, but I raised that on my first service so that this gets logged as an issue with the car.

From a fixing and response perspective, I strongly believe now that FIAT service is far more responsive than Maruti.

1 and 2 should not be an issue as they are iron and can get rusted slightly.
Rear badging rusted? - That I havent heard till now. is it the badging or the body panel behind that getting rusted?

[Dex]

Its the rear badging. "Emotion" has started showing small spots on chrome which will eventually erode, not the body panel behind the badging. The "FIAT" logo chrome though remains intact along with bumper chrome strips. I've seen this on multple cars in parking and during service.

[Palio_2005]

I have observed rusting on the boot of my 8 month old Linea. Have mailed Fiat and have been assured that this would be done on priority. I am waiting for a phone call from Tata now. Hope to get this sorted asap.

[harryms]

Friends it is an shocking day for me. I found that my Linea started rusting from inside. My Linea is only 3 month old but it started rusting.
Today i was installing spacer in the back door for the speaker, but my eyes were horrified after seeing rust in the inside of the door. i was really shocked to see rusting, really my Christmas is ruined. I was unable to believe that it was rust. i called my brother and he too confirmed that it was rust. I dont know what to say or do. I never observed any rust in my last car (indica v2) even after it served for 3.5 years. But after paying nearly 10LK i got a car which is rusting. OMG what sin i have done. I never expected this from an international brand like FIAT. after seeing this i really repent the decision for going LNEA even though the sales of LINEA was steeply decreasing.
In panic i called FIAT helpline, i have explained all my findings to the lady but shed refused to give me a complaint number since this was the first time she is hearing about the rusting in LINEA, i told her please go through team BHP posts you can find many incidents. I am 100 % sure that this is not the first time the rusting issue has happened to LINEA. She refused to take the complaint and asked me to take the vehicle to the dealer.
i am really fed-up with my Linea. After delivery i have to visit the workshop frequently, this is not what i expected from an international brand. I should have chosen Fiesta instead of Linea
Since i have found rust in the rear right door i have opened all the 3 door and checked for rust. I did nt find any rust. But the rusted door was missing the big foam type sticker and a small portion of it was there on the door and the rusting happened in the near by area of the sticker. i believe this sticker is for sound damping. Please see the attached photos for detail.
The order of the Pictures are as follows,
First 5 Pic - Rear Right Door.
Next 2 Pic - Rear Left Door.
Next 2 Pic - Front Left Door.
Next 3 Pic - Front Right Door.

I am really concerned now, how did this happen in the Rear right door. the foam sticker is only a bit in it, but all other doors have a big foam sticker ? I really doubt this was some manufacturing defect.

[harryms]

Just now visited the TASS, the SA told to bring the vehicle tomorrow so that they can take the photograph and replace the Door under warranty.

One question i did not find any side impact bar in Linea doors. In my previous vehicle indica it had the side impact bar in all the 4 doors. Is there any other technology superior than the side impact bar in the new cars?

After seeing rust in many Linea i truly doubt about the quality of material used.
Is this an standard international quality ?
Truly according to my experience the body quality of TATA cars are superior when i compare with FIAT. Moderators if i am sounding odd please delete my post.

[Autocop]

Understand and sympathize with your situation. One can easily start cursing the OEM for such happenings. If its just one door this might have been caused due to some malpractice or human intervention, possibly, someone removing the good door and replacing it with rusted one without your notice.

Please show it to your workshop. Just to be sure, please ask your workshop guys to inspest all the metal areas to rule out possibility of rust elsewhere. Fiat is prompt than most of the OEMs when it comes to settling warranty issues.

Hope this gets resolved soon amicably. Wish you good luck!

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by harryms

Truly according to my experience the body quality of TATA cars are superior when i compare with FIAT. Moderators if i am sounding odd please delete my post.

Hello Harry,
I have a 5.5 year old Indica and the only rust it has is on the muffler can.

Reasons for rusting could be any or many of the below factors:
1. Grade / Quality of steel used
2. Improper / Incomplete painting
3. Paint damage
4. Corrosive environment (coastal weather / salty hard water used to wash

In the last 3 pictures that you have posted, I see some bubbling of the foam sticker. Please check if there is any rusting under the bubbled foam too, just to be sure.

You can check the VIN number and see when your car was manufactured, to know how long the car was standing in the dealer / factory yard. If its sat in the yard through monsoon, its probably the reason. My take is, if the paint cover is good, the body should not rust even in unfavourable conditions.

[harryms]

Friend i too agree with you coastal area is one factor regarding rusting. But my Indica was in same place as Linea and it never showed any rusting.
I may say Quality Matters

I too noticed the bubble in the foam sticker, but there is no rust for now. Don't know what will happen after 1 year on that door.

I have checked the manufacturing date when i took delivery it was only 2 months old.

Update:
Yesterday visited the TASS they took the photo of the door after opening the door pad. The SA told me that they have to get permission form FIAT and i have to wait 2 days for conformation.

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by Trust_In_Thrust

Also paint process is completely robotized so there is no chance that the spot was not painted .

Trust_In_Thrust,

Just because the painting is done by a robot, we should not think that the process is foolproof. The robots are programmed by human beings and we can make mistakes.

The new generation of "learning" robots, need to be taken through the first cycle in "learn mode" manually, where the robot memorizes the spacial co-ordinates where it must change direction. If the person teaching the robot makes a mistake, the robot copies that on every run. However this type of a mistake is easily detectable in QC.

What is worrisome, is that we have read in our Forum about Linea doors rusting and Fiat later changing the paint.

This is one time where I really appreciate the 6 year anti-perforation from VW. Just shows how much confidence a manufacturer has in his product. Fiat on the other hand offers an unlimited mileage 2 year warranty, so we know how they feel about their engine

[Trust_In_Thrust]

@autocrat : I completely agree with you . Neverthless i find paint quality in terms of shine much better over a long tenure on European ,American cars compared to Japs , Koreans.
Fiat somehow takes forever to implement measures to iron out these small issues while they have a wonderful cars.

[harryms]

Friends thank you for your support. Sorry for the delay in updating. My door has been painted after removing the small part of foam tape which was in the door ad you can see in the PIC. the rust was only minimal ie on the surface. But the sound damping foam tape is not available since it is not in the parts list. so the door is now having no sound damping. it sounds really odd in the door since all other door had the sound damping foam tapes.

thanks to all.

[--gKrish--]

Sorry to bump an old thread. But I can't help but share this here.

Earlier this evening I popped up the car's hood to do the routine check whether the fluids and so so are ok. Checked the battery indicator and that's when I found the rubber/sponge near the fusebox out of place. I pushed it back to its place and found this patch of rust under it.



Will these aerosol spray paints do the job for now?

PS: Fellow Linea owners please remove the rubber thing and see if you've got anything similar .I feel it is a kind of vulnerable area. It is a joint, covered by a sticky rubbery foam and water can get stuck in between.

[prithm]

Originally Posted by --gKrish--

Will these aerosol spray paints do the job for now?

I am no Linea expert, but looks like the bonding agent or flux they use during mechanical welding might be the root cause of this problem. It might be more of a OEM based issue which they have to test and confirm.

If you observe closely it is actually emanating from the weld location or position instead. I am 100% sure if poke the weld joint with a sharp object, the rust will peel in layers.

Just a food for thought and I might be wrong, but my gut feeling is more towards Galvanic rusting phenomenon due to earthing fault or open circuit.

A trip to service station is better.

[JohnKT777]

I own a 2014 Fiat Linea Classic Petrol with F.I.R.E. Engine that is approx. 5.5 years old. The extended-warranty expired in Dec 2019. However, I have been regular and fastidious with my service and repairs. My car has not suffered any collisions till the present date. I have never made any insurance claim on my car.

I observed a severe case of rust and perforation on the structural members of my car, inside the front bonnet. Refer the pictures. These are photos of the Crossrail (59064150, 51809913), Boxed Panel | Central (59064151, 51809859), Boxed Panel | RH (59089672, 51809870) and Strut | RH (59064546, 51818174). Not only are these parts costly, but they are also important structural members to protect the passenger compartment in the event of a collision. In my car, all these parts have suffered from rusting. This is not simply surface rust, but the rust has eaten into the metal and reduced it to powder.

Skoda, VW and other manufacturers offer a 6-Year Anti-perforation warranty on their vehicles, especially on any structural members related to the vehicle's safety. Fiat does not have an anti-perforation warranty for India as such. However, in Europe it offers an 8-year anti-perforation warranty on Structural members (http://fiat.mopar.eu/uk-en/Pages/war...intenance.aspx). When I inquired independently with the dealerships in the past, the warranty issue was never invoked from their end, and I was told that repairs/ replacement of parts was potentially very time-consuming and expensive. I suspect these parts were not Galvanized or Rust treated, but simply painted over. Nothing else could explain their rapid deterioration.

A write-up on this link: https://www.hzlindia.com/ask_for_zin...wilkinson-iza/, suggests that many car brands in India are not subjected to any rust protection / sacrificial protection, as a result of which, they corrode rapidly. This is not expected of an European Marque like Fiat. We buy it because we trust their claims. A conversation with the AGM of Hyson Fiat Kochi confirmed that there was indeed no anti-perforation warranty for Fiat in India. It is only the standard 3 Year/ 100,000 Kms warranty that is applicable.

Recently, I noticed that rust damage was aggravating and doing more damage. It is now a safety hazard. So, I wrote directly to the Managing Director of FCA, Shri. Partha Datta about this issue. I E-mailed him on his FCA E-mail (I got his mail ID from a friend who works in BMW). This was then sent to the dealership. The dealership's response has been tepid until now (Hyson Fiat Kochi). It has been suggested that I might have to foot a significant portion of the bill. I feel this is inherently unfair, especially to a car that is single-owned, regularly serviced and periodically maintained.

My car has never suffered any major accidents. The structure was never deformed, damaged or subjected to extreme stresses. Also, I have never made a claim on my insurance till now. The level of rust damage which I have seen on my car is unacceptable. I feel it puts my safety and that of my family at risk. As a quality manufacturer of European marque like Fiat, FCA should take responsibility for the rusting and help me restore my car to pristine order. I have taken great pains to maintain my car till date. Watching it rust away like this is agonizing.

I have also been regular with my service. I have patronized various authorized Fiat Service centres over the years.That no service advisor or technician identified this problem prior hand indicates that the rust/ perforation originated from inside-out. In its early stages, it would have escaped visual scrutiny. If they had observed this earlier, it would have found mention in the service advisory. This is why I claim again that the issue is not service/maintenance related but quality/ manufacturing related. The problem had escaped visual scrutiny. The rust originated from the inside out.

I have as a result, written to Autocar India Helpline, being a loyal reader for 16 years to take up my case with FCA for a fair resolution.